Alpine League

The Alpine League was a transnational ice hockey competition in which teams from Italy , Austria and Slovenia participated. It was a professional league that was held parallel to the respective national championships.

Foundation and history of the league

The Alpine League was launched in the summer of 1991 by the ice hockey associations of Austria, Italy and Slovenia. Due to the much broader field of participants and the international competition, the level and development of the players should be promoted while at the same time trying to offer the fans attractive opponents. Although the state champions were played separately, the majority of the duration of a season was spent in the Alpine League, which in the 1990s was the de facto most important league of all three countries.

It took place for the first time in the 1991/92 season and for the last time in the 1998/99 season. The mode varied with the number of participating teams, usually first a basic round and then a final tournament, in which the four to eight best teams took part. The competition usually ended before Christmas in order to give the participating countries the opportunity to hold their own national championship afterwards. Only in the last few years did the seasons extend beyond the turn of the year.

Reception with the audience

Although the league was able to offer attractive games, two issues were often criticized by ice hockey fans. On the one hand, the level of the teams from Italy had fallen sharply after a strong start with three championship titles, which led to a performance gap in the later events. In the 1997/98 season no Italian team took part in the competition. After Italy finally withdrew from the competition in 1999, this was the death knell for the league.

The second point of criticism was the importance of the league. Apart from the individual games, it was criticized that the national champions were determined in separate championships, which means that the Alpine League was basically a cup tournament. This led to a steady decline in viewers, especially in later years, despite good sporting performances, especially by the Austrian teams.

successor

After Italy withdrew, a successor was brought into being with the Interliga , which initially took on some teams from Hungary in addition to Austria and Slovenia. The first edition of this league was also the last with Austrian participants, as the league system in Austria was reformed after this season (see Austrian Ice Hockey League 2000/01 ). However, the Interliga grew further east and was one of the most important leagues in Hungary and the former Yugoslavia for a few years.

Since the end of the Alpine League, a new edition has been discussed in Austria again and again. The sporting comparison with neighboring countries and a greater variety of opponents are considered positive aspects - on the other hand, there are the higher travel costs and the sometimes relatively low interest of fans in the teams from Italy and Slovenia. The latter argument has been partially invalidated since the participation of HK Jesenice , HC Bozen and HDD Olimpija Ljubljana in the Austrian ice hockey league , as these teams are also very popular with Austrian fans.

In women's ice hockey , however, a league corresponding to the Alpine league was created: the Elite Women's Hockey League .

Overview

A total of seven seasons were held. The most successful team is VEU Feldkirch from Austria, which won the title four times in a row. In second place is HC Bozen from Italy with one championship title and three second places.

Season overview of the Alpine League

season	Teams	Final tournament in	master	Runner-up
1991/92	20th	Villach	HC Devils Milano	HC Bolzano
1992/93	16	Villach	HC Alleghe	HC Bolzano
1993/94	15th		HC Bolzano	AC Milan
1994/95	no event (instead European League Cup )
1995/96	17th	Klagenfurt	VEU Feldkirch	CE Vienna
1996/97	11		VEU Feldkirch	HDD Olimpija Ljubljana
1997/98	9		VEU Feldkirch	EC KAC
1998/99	16	Feldkirch , Bolzano	VEU Feldkirch	HC Bolzano